Thursday, February 28, 2013

Week 1 - Let's Go E-business

Hello web surfers allow me to introduce myself, my name is Allstar a daring
business student, looking to give you some dynamite keys that will give
you a blueprint for making it in online business.

Over 12 weeks I will cover 12 areas of e-business from a university subject,

giving you insight and understanding into the online world of business.

Many
corporate giants will try and make you think you need their help to do
business online but with technology being so accessible and the world
being so much "smaller" these days, it's not too difficult to make a
transactional website that is your very own E-shop, all you need is the
right software and the know how.

Even if you can't be bothered making the website there are plenty of
online providers for E-shop website creation, here is an example that charges a fee for a yearly subscription.http://www.mywork.com.au/

Before you attempt to create a E-shop you must first have an awareness of
the risks involved with business on the internet, and an
understanding of a few key E-business definitions that will help you define your business online.

Like any venture
there are risks involved but the possibilities of online business are so
much greater than that of traditional retail.

Many people who shop regularly online tend to use online shop
giants such as Amazon, Ebay and itunes, due to their large inventories
and presence as market leaders.

Failure to link your business to
familiar/ widely recognized associations will affect your potential
profits, because people will be unlikely to organize purchases through unrecognizable
mediums.B. Lack of exposure

Lack of exposure can ruin any business,
how can you expect to make profit if there aren't enough people that
know about your business?

Some companies spend millions on advertising and in getting a top place in a Google search.However there are a number of effective channels for creating exposure that cost barely anything.Social
networking: websites like Facebook, Twitter, friendster and linkedIn
and even blogs like this page are channels where you can create exposure
for free.

C. Lack of Security

Encryption: "the process of translating data into a secret code that can only be read by authorized users...

Important
data such as credit card details and bank records should always be
stored in encrypted format to protect it from hackers". (Colin Potts,
James Lawson, Therese Keane, Margaret Lawson, 2011)

HTTPS: Short for HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure, the industry standard for websites that allow financial transactions.

SSL: Short for Secure Sockets Layer, the industry standard, security technology
used for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser.

This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and
browsers remain private and intact. "SSL is
used by millions of websites in the protection of their online
transactions with their customers". http://info.ssl.com/article.aspx?id=10241

To
run an online business there must be security software in place, in
order to prevent your customers from being targeted by hackers.

If you don't put security in place you could be taken to court for not taking "reasonable care" for what could be seen as "reasonably foreseeable" (customer's information being hacked due to no security software).

B. What is E-business?

Q3.What is the difference between the buy side and sell side of E-Commerce?

A. Sell side

The
sell side of e-commerce involves the catalogues and electronic
storefronts that manages the purchase process, from the selection of
items , through to the payment of items.

B. Buy Side

The buy side of e-commerce serves as the side that gives a company/person the ability to enter and fulfill purchase orders.E-Commerce By S. Pankaj pg 35

Q4. Describe the different types of E-Business

A. business to business (B2B)"Companies doing business with each other such as manufacturers selling to distributors and
wholesalers selling to retailers. Pricing is based on quantity of order and is often negotiable".http://www.digitsmith.com/ecommerce-definition.html

B. business to customer (B2C)."Businesses
selling to the general public typically through catalogs utilizing
shopping cart software...B2C is really what the average Joe has in mind
with
regards to e-commerce as a whole".

C. Consumer to Business (C2B)" A consumer posts his project with a set budget online and within hours
companies review the
consumer's requirements and bid on the project".

"The consumer reviews
the bids and selects the
company that will complete the project. Elance empowers consumers
around the world by providing the meeting ground and platform for such
transactions".

D. Consumer to Consumer (C2C)"There are many sites offering free classifieds, auctions, and forums
where individuals can buy and
sell thanks to online payment systems like PayPal where people can send
and receive money online with ease. eBay's auction service is a great
example of where person-to-person transactions take place everyday".http://www.digitsmith.com/ecommerce-definition.html

Q5. Which digital technology has the highest penetration rate?

The
mobile phone industry is undoubtedly one of the most prominent examples
of a technology-based industry, that has evolved , at an impressive
speed,

showing both rapid transitions in product features and manufacture competition dynamics.

Since its inception the global mobile phone industry has steadily increased in market penetration annually.

Over the last two decades, there has been a rapid evolution of the mobile phone.

First introduced in the 1980's as a analogue handheld device for business users,

Hull states that a successful E-store has the following:

iii. people can visit from anywhere in the world - anyone that has access to the internet can visit the store.However Hull claims that these advantages can only be full exploited if you sell e-products,examples being:

Information

Music

Software

Gambling

This is because e-products can be transferred over the internet, tangible products cannot be transmitted over the internet.To sell tangible products online you still need physical infrastructure, manual processing, and staff.Thus
an online business that sells tangible products is at a disadvantage
because it is still made of 'bricks and mortar'. (c) Alan Hull 2009

C. You can work from home and choose your own hours

Mike
Simpson and Anthony J. Docherty, (2004) found that e-commerce had
social benefits for SMEs (Small to medium enterprise) owners in the UK who previously owned a physical store.

D. "You are your own Boss" - (Alan Hull 2009)

You
are the manager of your own created business there is no person
looking over your shoulder giving you demands or orders, you set your
own goals and benchmarks. (c) Alan Hull 2009

Q7. Four barriers to adoption of sell-side e-commerce by business

A. Lack of Information technology - knowledgeThose
with little to none I.T (information technology) education find the
prospect of setting up an online store an arduous task, which is simply
beyond them.

Little knowledge of using I.T is a barrier to entrepreneurs in entering e-commerce, as is the same for customers.Ziqi Liaoand MichaelTow Cheung (2001) did a study on Singaporean's willingness to use internet based commerce and
found that "individuals without knowledge or experience of the internet
may harbor a latent willingness to e-shop on it". http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378720600000720

B. Lack of funds for start up costs

As with any business you need to be able to pay for start up costs.

If
your not paying for software or training to make your own e-shop then
you will be paying a provider to help you establish an e-shop, here is
an example of a provider that makes it easy to create one http://www.woothemes.com/

Q9. Given examples of digital information

Digital camera

Mobile phone

Internet

Television

Fax machine

For information to be transferred and saved digitally through such technology mediums, means that an action is performed electronically through one and zeros in binary code, as a program which is executed by a 'computer'. http://www.dailywritingtips.com/analog-vs-digital/

Q10. What is the semantic web? Are we there yet?

The
inventor of the term Tim Berners-lee defines "semantic web" as ' an
extension of the current web in which information is given in well
defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in
cooperation.